Intriguingly, the new study suggests the presence or absence of the genes used to reprogram skin cells to become the blank slate pluripotent cells makes no difference in terms of their capacity to differentiate.
Stem Cells
Wisconsin team grows retina cells from skin-derived stem cells
A team of scientists from the School of Medicine and Public Health has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells — suggesting a future in which damaged retinas could be repaired by cells grown from the patient’s own skin.
Patient-derived induced stem cells retain disease traits
When neurons started dying in Clive Svendsen’s lab dishes, he couldn’t have been more pleased.
$7.2 million grant to aid search for ALS stem cell therapy
With the help of a $7.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers will explore the potential of stem cells and natural growth factors to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
UW establishes stem cell and regenerative medicine center
In an effort to strengthen and sustain its leadership in the companion fields of stem cell research and regenerative medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will establish a new Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.
Stem cells used to create critical brain barrier in lab
Using neural stem cells derived from the fetal brains of rats, a team of Wisconsin scientists has devised a rudimentary blood-brain barrier in the lab.
Scientists infuse rat spinal cords with brain-derived human stem cells
Unveiling a delivery method that may one day help surgeons treat the deadly neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), researchers at the UW-Madison have inserted engineered human stem cells into the spinal cords of ALS-afflicted rats.
Waisman researchers grow critical nerve cells
After years of trial and error, scientists have coaxed human embryonic stem cells to become spinal motor neurons, critical nervous system pathways that relay messages from the brain to the rest of the body.
Growth factor shows promise in Parkinson’s patients
By pumping a potent growth factor directly into the human brain, an international team of scientists and surgeons has demonstrated significant remediation of the debilitating symptoms of patients with Parkinson’s disease.
2002 Best of Madison Editors Choice Awards
UW-Madison scientist and brainiac Su-Chun Zhang has raised the stakes — and astonished the world — by proving it’s possible to grow the healthy brain cells that could one day repair damage caused by everything from strokes to disease to spinal cord injuries. When UW wins the race to cure chronic diseases, he and James Thomson will be crossing the finish line together.”